


no words can explain

by xixxi



Category: Hockey RPF
Genre: Fluff, Love at First Sight, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-22
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-31 17:14:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3986266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xixxi/pseuds/xixxi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So yes, looking back, it’s thanks to Flower that Geno meets Sidney Crosby, Canada’s most recent musical phenomenon.</p>
            </blockquote>





	no words can explain

**Author's Note:**

> Diabetic people probably shouldn’t read this. Too much sugar and fluff is bad for you :(
> 
> I’d also just like to point out that my knowledge of music is very limited, and that comes across in Geno’s POV. If something is glaringly wrong, please let me know and I shall do my best to fix it. I imagine Sid to be somewhat similar to Kyle Landry, if you need a figurehead. If you’ve never heard of him before, I highly recommend checking out his twitch and youtube.
> 
> I’ve also included links to music (on youtube, please check your volume before you play! I always forget lol rip my ears) throughout the fic, please feel free to listen to them though they aren’t crucial to the story :>
> 
> Unbeta'd, please forgive any errors.
> 
> Title is from 'Lay Me Down' by Sam Smith.

Looking back, it pains Geno to say this, but it’s thanks to Flower’s lame pranking ways that he even manages to meet Sidney.

Flower has somehow, through goalie voodoo magic probably, managed to convince him and Tanger to go out to some random music store while they’re visiting Montreal. Their mission is to buy as much kids music as they can to switch with their locker room music so Flower can try and frame the call ups. Hey, Geno never said it was a good prank, though he has to admit, pranking the rookies is a lot of fun. 

Nevertheless, Geno’s got his hands full of nursery rhyme discs and lullabies from their impromptu competition to find the most music, when he spots movement out from the corner of his eye. Getting ready to chirp at Tanger on the sheer amount of kids music he’s managed to hoard, Geno turns around only to stop short, in shock. 

Off to the side is one of the most attractive guys Geno has ever seen. He’s got a Canadiens cap pulled low on his head, which, a plus for liking hockey but a minus for liking the Habs, obviously.

There’s nothing that screams attention to him, just a normal guy listening to music, but Geno can’t help but feel drawn to the long, graceful fingers that are currently tapping out a tune on top of the cd racks. 

The man’s got his eyes closed, bopping his head to music that Geno wishes he could hear through the headphones. Geno feels his heart sputter pathetically in his chest. 

“Sid!” A girl with long blonde hair bounds up next to the guy and tugs on the man’s shoulder. Geno feels an irrational stab of jealousy as the man, ‘Sid’ he assumes, turns to her and starts to laugh at her dramatic declaration of hunger. He shakes his head fondly and goes to hang the headphones on the rack when he catches sight of Geno, probably staring dumbly at him. 

His eyes widen slightly, before he smiles and gives a cheerful wave. Geno can only robotically wave back, stunned, as Sid turns to walk away. The blonde girl takes a quick look at him, her eyes also widening, before she crashes into Sid, her arm winding around his waist, both of them giggling out of the store. 

Geno’s still in the same spot, mouth hanging slightly open, ten minutes later when Tanger finds him. 

“Hey, I win!” Tanger declares and Geno’s reminded of the reason for this particular excursion. 

“I ran out of cds for lullabies,” Tanger laughs, with a raised eyebrow at Geno’s impressive collection. “So I thought classical music would be fine as a substitute. This one’s supposedly really good,” Tanger says, holding up a random cd. 

Geno briefly glances at it, still in shock over that encounter, trying to hold onto the cds he has in his arms, only to snap back, several cds falling to the ground. 

There, on the cover, is Sid playing the piano. 

Tanger yelps as Geno ends up dropping everything in his haste to grab the cd out of his hands. 

So yes, looking back, it’s thanks to Flower that Geno meets Sidney Crosby, Canada’s most recent musical phenomenon. 

 

\- - - - -

 

It takes an embarrassingly short amount of time for Flower and Tanger to get the story out of him, and for them to rush to an internet cafe to look up Sidney Crosby, youtube sensation turned internationally acclaimed pianist. Flower is cheerfully printing out page after page, no doubt for some future pranking purposes, while Tanger distracts him with random tidbits he finds on the wiki page.

From the wikipedia article, they discover that Sidney used to play hockey, had even been quite good at it, going to several tournaments and had even gotten drafted by a team. A quick look at his stats, show just how promising he could’ve been, and if not for car crash that had messed up his knee, he’d probably be in NHL. Not long after that, he began to devote his time to his love of music, and had only gotten better since, if the long list of accolades are any indication. 

Not only is this Sidney Crosby attractive, but he’s also multi-talented. Geno’s a little in love. 

But they’re in Montreal for only two more days, and they’ve got to prepare for the upcoming match, especially after last week when they had gotten shut out thanks to the supernatural reflexes of Carey Price.

Geno puts the thought of Sidney Crosby to the back of his mind, and ushers Flower and Tanger out of the cafe, pointedly ignoring the stacks of printed out sheets stuffed under their arms along with their ridiculous bags of kids music.

It probably wouldn’t have worked out, Geno thinks as he watches Flower and Tanger converse together ahead of him, whispering furiously. 

Geno’s got more important things to worry about than a silly crush. Things like their struggling power play, their four game losing streak and constant need to pull up baby Pens to bandaid the team from injuries as much as they can. Geno surreptitiously tries to sneak a few pages out from under Flower’s stranglehold, only to have Flower squawk and stuff the pages down his shirt to protect them, while Tanger chokes out a laugh.

Well, if it makes his team happy, Geno resigns himself to several weeks of teasing. Ultimately though, he finds that he doesn’t mind, his team’s happiness at the forefront of his mind.

 

\- - - - -

 

Needless to say it’s a surprise when a week later, during the flight to San Jose, that Geno plugs in his headphones and absently presses shuffle on his playlist, expecting to hear Lady Gaga to pump himself up with her admittedly catchy, confidence boosting songs, but instead gets the beginning of soft notes from a [piano. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P2K7D-uMH2g)

Geno shoots up in his seat and is immediately alert, scanning around for any potential culprits. Everyone is asleep, even Flower, the usual suspect, who is steadily drooling on Duper’s shoulder. 

Paulie seems to be the only one left awake and he glances up from his book, his glasses perched precariously on the end of his nose, raising an eyebrow in concern. 

Geno just shakes his head in reply, and Paulie goes back to his book, albeit confused. Geno takes a deep breath before peeking at his phone. There, on the album art, is none other than a picture of Sidney Crosby. 

Looking through his music library, Geno finds a playlist titled ‘Loverboy’ and has to take a moment to emphatically roll his eyes in disgust. How Flower manages to find the time to fiddle around with his Phone, Geno will never know. Though, thinking about it, the French-Canadian connection is only growing stronger. Geno has a sneaking suspicion that Lappy’s suggestion of staying behind one practice for help with improving his faceoffs might’ve been when the deed was done.

As far as pranks go, this is pretty harmless, and the soft notes of the piano are surprising relaxing, given Geno’s fondness for loud proclamations of being ‘born this way’. Before he knows it, Geno drifts off to sleep, the image of Sidney’s fingers tapping a tune the last thing he remembers.

 

\- - - - -

 

The team is jubilant but exhausted after that hard earned extra point against the Sharks, joking around the airport lounge as they wait for their flight. Geno’s startled when his phone vibrates, disrupting his conversation with Horny, who waits patiently while Geno fishes out his phone from his pocket. In the corner of his eye, he sees Tanger, Duper and Flower do the same.

“SidneyCrosby87 just went live!” claims the notification from his phone, from an application Geno has definitely never heard of. Slowly, Geno turns to look at the trio obviously responsible for this, only to see them smiling angelically back at him. 

“Why are they looking at you like that? And who’s ‘SidneyCrosby87’ and why is he ‘live’?” asks Horny, leaning over his shoulder to glance at the screen.

“No one.” Geno says, viciously shutting off his phone. 

“Geno!” Duper exclaims in protest, bouncing over to him. He settles an arm around Geno’s shoulder and brings up his phone. “Look!”

On Duper’s screen is Sidney sitting next to a piano, talking to the camera. He smiles before turning to the piano and begins to play something, though it’s impossible to tell with the sound muted. 

“A video?” Horny asks questioningly. Geno would reply, but he’s engrossed with the way Sidney seems so comfortable on the piano. He can hear Tanger explain something to Horny as Duper carefully slots an earbud into his ear. Geno fiddles with it for a second, settling it more comfortably in his ear, before stilling as he recognizes the tune being played. It’s the song from his playlist, though Geno can’t quite remember the name of it. 

A huff of laughter distracts him, and he looks up to see half the team grinning and Flower gleefully filming him from his phone.

Geno scowls as he shoves the earbud and phone at a laughing Duper, and crosses his arms. 

“Oh, Geno.” Horny says, patting his shoulder, a smile peeking out from the corner of his mouth. “I heard he likes the Habs. You have my symphony.” 

It takes a moment for Geno to fully understand what Horny means, while the team groans. It starts a pun contest which unfortunately lasts throughout the flight, getting increasingly worse.

“If it’s not baroque, don’t fix it!” Beau says, looking at the picture of Sidney on Flower’s phone, to the chorus of hoots from the French-Canadian union. 

Geno is infinitely glad that he decided to sit with Greisser, because at least he can count on Greiss to quietly have his back. That is, until Greiss plucks the phone out of Flower’s hands and stares at it for a few moments. The team grows silent as they watch as he slowly smiles, before handing it back to Flower.

“Baby got Bach.” Greiss says with a smirk, and the whole team starting laughing again.

If only he’d gone to the Capitals instead and Sasha to the Pens, Geno thinks resignedly as Duper wipes a tear from his eye. He bets Sasha never has to deal with this shit.

 

\- - - - -

 

When Geno arrives home, he has to admit that he’s been unconsciously humming along to one of the songs on his playlist. 

He settles in, fixing himself a cup of tea in the kitchen, before curiosity strikes, and Geno finds himself looking up the application on his ipad. 

‘SidneyCrosby87 is online, 14,072 viewers currently watching’ the application helpfully supplies. 

With slight hesitation, Geno presses Sidney’s picture and notices a little chat box he hadn’t seen before.

Sidney is looking towards the screen, fingers poised over the piano, clearly reading the requests the viewers are asking. He grins for a moment, before turning to his piano, and begins [playing.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Dk0kS6gGh0)

It’s easy to get lost in the music, watching Sidney play, the languid easiness just as distracting as that moment a week ago, when he first saw Sidney in Montreal.

He exits out of the app and takes a deep breath, grabbing his now cold cup of tea and heads upstairs to his bed. He passes by the living room and catches sight of piano that had been included in the pre-furnished house. With Sidney so freshly in his mind, he can easily imagine Sidney sitting at the piano, in his house, playing something just for him. 

Geno shakes his head ruining the illusion, and walks upstairs, hoping things will make sense in the morning. 

The next morning isn’t any clearer. At the airport, while they’re waiting for their plane to Arizona, he sees Pouliot bouncing around chatting excitedly to Tanger, making Geno extremely nervous. Pouliot’s still an impressionable duckling, who knows what he might do to earn Tanger’s approval. His nervousness is absolutely warranted when Tanger makes an evil grin and scurries off. Geno has a strong suspicion that the rest of the French-Canadian coalition will be called in to arms, and slinks off to hide next to Downie, who no one, not even Duper, would disturb during the flight. 

So of course, they strike at the hotel. 

Geno figures he’s finally safe in his hotel room, with the door locked and chain put in, only to hear footsteps and giggles outside his door while something is haphazardly shoved underneath. 

It’s a newspaper clipping, with dates and times of a concert circled with red marker. A concert featuring up and coming musical talent, with a show in Pittsburgh, of all places.

Geno has no idea what possesses him to search for concert clips of Sidney on youtube. The tender yet passionate way he plays his music captivates Geno, who after watching, in a moment of weakness calls Jen. 

“Why don’t you just go to the concert yourself, Geno?” Jen asks, her amusement palpable through the phone. 

“I’m just think it good for team to go together, you know?” He clears his throat. “Team bonding exercise.” If he goes down, he’s bringing the rest of the Pens with him. A good Captain makes everyone go down with his ship, or whatever the english idiom is; Geno has a hard time remembering the exact phrasing.

“Hmm.” He can hear her tapping away furiously on her computer in the background. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Three hours later, the whole Penguins team have tickets to the variety show the night after they come back, during their four day break. This is why Jen is the best, and why Geno will probably end up having to answer more questions from reporters than usual, as is his right being the Captain. 

To say he’s excited is an understatement. Geno’s even shamefully, without prompting from Flower, bought the rest of Sidney’s music and downloaded it onto his phone, like the lovesick puppy he is. It’s just that whenever he closes his eyes, he remembers Sidney’s fingers, lightning quick, confidently tapping out a song. Geno is not musically inclined whatsoever, but there is something hypnotizing about the music that Geno can’t describe. 

The Pens take great pleasure, the night of the concert, to tease him while they’re milling about waiting to find their seats. 

Duper’s brought along a video camera and is gleefully filming Geno, not bothering to focus on anything else. When Geno starts grumbling and attempts to take away the camera, Duper stops him with a smirk.

“Jen’s orders, Geno!” 

He can hear Suttsy in the corner whispering, “She wants to use it for ‘In The Room’,” and goes into the corner to sulk, while they wait for the concert. 

The actual concert is a little awkward, if only because Geno can feel the eyes of his whole team digging a hole in the back of his head and the little beeps of Duper’s video camera disrupt the atmosphere. As mean as it is, Geno doesn’t really care much about the rest of the acts in the show; Sidney’s the last on the list, so he settles in his seat and listens to the music absently. 

Tanger’s fallen asleep and is drooling on Flower’s shoulder by the time Sidney steps onto the stage, but a frantic elbow from Flower wakes him up and he blearily holds up his phone to film the show. Geno would try to interfere, but once Sidney begins to [play,](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpOtuoHL45Y) he just loses interest. 

Sidney is even more captivating in person, it’s extremely easy to get lost in the performance. He finishes his set to a healthy applause as he steps around the piano and bows to the audience. He’s obviously still getting used to performing to large crowds. Sidney makes an abortive movement to put his hands in his pockets, before visibly remembering that people are watching, and tries to casually wipe his hands on his pant legs instead. It proves the point that Geno is so gone for him, that he just finds the whole thing endearing. 

Suttsy lets out a sharp whistle and it feels like every single head in the audience turns to look at them. Geno shuts his eyes in despair. When he opens them, he sees Sidney looking at them all in shock, before his eyes land on Geno.

Geno has the strongest sense of deja vu when Sidney looks at him, before grinning and gives a quick wave. He automatically waves back as his teammates cackle in the background, like the traitors they are. Geno can only watch as Sidney exits the stage and the rest of the audience starts leaving. 

“Hey,” Horny interrupts, patting Geno on the shoulder. “Let’s try to see if we can meet Loverboy at the reception, huh?”

Before Geno can protest, he’s bodily dragged outside to where several of the performers are mingling with fans next to a buffet bar. Taking a look around the room Sidney is nowhere to be seen, though he sees Beau sneaking a few bits of food onto a plate and Nick flag down a waiter carrying what he assumes are flutes of champagne, distributing them to the rest of the Pens.

“He not here, let’s go, have practice tomorrow.” Geno says, breaking out of Horny and Flower’s iron grips, nevermind that practice is optional. He turns around only to bump into someone, and he automatically reaches out to steady them.

“Hi.” Sidney says, smiling. 

Geno can only nod in response, his english leaving him. He must look like a deer caught in headlights as Sidney seems to pity him and continues, “I believe we’ve met before?” Geno experiences a slight heart attack, trying to frantically remember when they could’ve crossed paths, until he realizes Sidney must’ve meant that day at the music store, and nods. Geno feels something poke him in the back, hard, and is reminded that Flower is right behind him.

“You good at piano,” He manages to croak out, to the slight groans he can hear from Flower. “I like your music.”

Sidney grins in response, and the two of them end up standing there, smiling at each other. 

“How long are you staying in Pittsburgh?” Flower asks, leaning around Geno, smirking as he glances back and forth between them, clearly trying to take things into his own hands.

“Around a week or so. Nothing concrete,” Sidney says. “I was hoping to go sightseeing while I’m here. I’ve heard there are nice, uh, bridges.” He continues, smiling crookedly. Geno wants to press Sidney’s beestung lips, and some of it must show on his face because Sidney flushes slightly as he looks back at Geno with equal intensity.

A slight cough from Kuni interrupts the moment, and Geno stuffs his hands in his pockets to abstain from his urges while Sidney averts his eyes to the floor. Geno feels like some teenager being chaperoned, and with how Duper is looking at him with a raised eyebrow, the feeling is mutual. 

“Come watch a game,” Horny says, patting Sidney on the back. “We’re playing against the Flyers, so it should be a good one!” Beau is nodding his head furiously, cheeks stuffed with food, eyes slightly wide as he looks over Geno’s shoulder. When he takes a peek around, he just sees Tanger smiling encouragingly.

“Ok,” Sidney says, pulling out a cellphone. “I should be free then.”

“Geno will give you tickets, no problem.” Flower says, slapping Geno’s back, wiggling his eyebrows. “Maybe give him some contact info so he can give you details?” 

Geno ends the night with Sidney’s phone number stored in his phone, burning a hole in his pocket. He’s about to go to bed, when he impulsively texts Sidney a simple good night.

Thinking that to be the end of it, he turns off his lamp and lies down in bed only to hear his phone vibrate on his bedside table. 

_good night geno_

_it was really nice meeting you tonight._

If Geno spends a while looking at his screen, well, at least there’s no one there to tease him about it.

 

\- - - - -

 

It goes without saying that any Pens versus Flyers match is usually a bloodbath. It just normally depends on who. 

Geno can feel the blood thrumming in his veins, and the knowledge that Sidney is here watching makes him even more conscious of the ice. He gets a goal and two assists in a 5-1 victory and the team is jubilant as they exit into the locker room. 

“Shots!” Suttsy calls out, while everyone cheers.

“First round on the First Star!” Duper says with an evil grin, and Geno is about to agree, rubbing at a bruise forming underneath his eye, before he remembers who exactly was the first star of the game. He ends up scowling at Duper, before Flower butts in, smirking, and exclaims that Sidney will be joining of course.

And so Geno ends up in a booth, squished next to Sidney while his teammates get drunker and drunker. 

“Sorry,” Geno says to Sidney, who frowns in response. 

“What? I can’t hear you,” Geno can barely hear the words over the pounding music and laughter. He wraps an arm around Sidney and leans down to repeat the apology closer to his ear. Except, he must’ve breathed too hard or something, because Sidney shuts his eyes and shivers. It sends a spike of want through Geno. Sidney wets his lips and Geno can feel himself draw slowly closer. 

“Beer, Sidney?” Duper interrupts, and they both spring apart. Duper looks like the canary that caught the cream. Geno continues to nurse his own beer while Sidney chugs down the one Duper gave him, his cheeks bright red.

Sidney must not drink often because after a while he begins to lean more and more on him, his eyes getting slightly glassy, as he smiles brilliantly at Geno, his lips redder than before. God must be testing him.

“I think you should bring your boy home Geno,” Tanger says, handing out fresh beers. “He looks ready to drop.”

Sidney honks out a laugh and Geno gently pulls him up and out of the booth, waving a quick bye to the rest of Pens. He asks Sidney where his hotel is, only for Sidney to giggle and slump against him. “Ca-can I stay with you tonight? I don’t know where my hotel key is.” he asks, which, God really must be testing him.

Figuring that Geno can just drive him home when he’s more coherent in the morning, he gently sets Sidney down in his passenger seat, where he drifts off as Geno drives back to his place. It’s a quiet ride back, with Sidney softly snoring, and Geno goes to turn his radio on, only for familiar notes to filter through. He shuts it off irritably, wondering when Flower even had the chance to sneak in, but honestly, trying to figure out the inner workings of the French-Canadian alliance was an exercise in futility. 

He goes to wake Sidney up when he arrives at his house, watching for a moment, before shaking his shoulder. Sidney groans, but dutifully follows Geno inside his house. 

“Thank you, Geno, for tonight.” Sidney grins, cheeks still tinted red, from the alcohol Duper had been plying him with all night. Geno takes a moment to despair of his teammates’ lack of tact. 

“Come,” Geno murmurs, placing a hand on the small of Sidney’s back, gently guiding him forward. Sidney stumbles on the stairs, honking his awful goose laugh which should terrify him, but instead makes Geno smile fondly. He ends up having to hook one of Sidney’s arms around his shoulders to help carry him into his guestroom. Sidney’s still a giggling mess, tucking his face into Geno’s neck, and Geno feels a pang of want for the same thing, but in a different situation. 

It takes a bit of maneuvering, but Geno eventually manages to set him down gently on the bed, and bends down to get Sidney’s shoes off, Sidney swaying slightly in place helpfully lifting up his feet. Not risking removing anything else, Geno stands, awkwardly rubbing his head.

“Geno.” 

Sidney looks happy, likely an after effect of the amount of alcohol he’d consumed earlier and not because he’s here with Geno. His lips are puffy from his absent habit of nibbling on them, and Geno hums a reply to restrain himself from leaning over and biting them.

“Goodnight Geno.” Sidney says softly. And Geno… Geno just wants so much.

“Zhenya.” He breathes out hazily, desperately wanting to hear Sidney say it.

Sidney bites his lip, blinking, before he whispers back softly, “Zhenya.” 

Geno knows that this can’t go further, that he’s already revealed too much. He closes his eyes and whispers goodnight back, then turns around and walks out of the room. He hears a muffled thump, probably Sidney collapsing on the guest bed, and forces himself to wash up and sleep. He won’t take advantage of Sidney like this. 

Fluffing up his pillow, Geno manages to fall asleep almost immediately, his name on Sidney’s lips the last thing remembers. 

 

\- - - - -

 

When he wakes up, it takes Geno a moment to realise that he’s not in fact dreaming. Mornings are not his thing, but he makes the effort to blink away the creeping call of sleep. 

Sunlight is lightly filtering through his blinds, making the room seem warm and cozy, and strangely enough he can hear a piano being played softly. 

His lack of tea is his only excuse why he fails to immediately register what that means.

As it is, he ends up falling out of bed as he scampers to the bathroom to quickly wash up. He spends a minute trying to wrangle his hair into staying flat before he decides to forget it and just face the music.

Walking downstairs, he takes a moment to roughly plan out what to say, his english not cooperative in the morning, when he catches sight of Sidney at the piano, playing [something. ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfzBx8SSQOU)

He’s halfway down the stairs, the music slowly winding down when Sidney looks up and meets his gaze, and Geno freezes as the music comes to a stop.

There’s a charged silence as they stare at each other. For a moment, Geno forgets how to breathe, looking at Sidney, comfortable in his house playing the piano. If this is what greeted him every morning, well, he could actually grow to like mornings. Sidney gives him a soft smile, and not breaking eye contact, continues to play.

The music is slightly different than earlier, it’s sweeter and hopeful. Geno can sense a vulnerability that wasn’t there before and feels his heart start to pound. 

His chest starts to ache something fierce, and he absently rubs it as he slowly continues on his way down, closer to Sidney.

With his unwavering gaze and steady fingers, the music feels like a reflection of Sidney, speaking in a different language, waiting for someone to understand. 

Maybe, even waiting for Geno to understand. 

The song ends, reverberating in his soul and Geno wishes that he had some way of expressing the yearning in his heart in response.

“Good Morning, Sidney.” Geno says, voice unexpectedly gravelly. His throat is dry and he swallows audibly to comfort it, while Sidney just stares back smiling. 

He hopes that Sidney was too drunk last night to remember Geno’s resolve crumbling and his eventual plea, but knowing his luck, Sidney’s probably just trying to find a way to let him down gently. With the piercing look in his eyes, Geno knows it’s the latter. Not wanting to let go of this precarious friendship just yet, Geno gestures to the kitchen.

“Coffee? Tea?” Geno asks, before hustling to make a pot of tea, unable to stay under Sid’s intense gaze. 

Trying to distract himself, he sets out two mugs and starts filling up his kettle with tap water. He doesn’t expect Sidney to follow and watch him methodically prep his tea, but he powers through it turning his back to him, washing his hands in the sink. 

“Zhenya.” Sidney says softly, and Geno loses his grip on his mug, as it clatters down into the sink, splashing water all over his hands and onto his shirt. He stills, not daring to believe.

“You know,” Sidney starts, breaking the silence, “I watched you play during World Juniors. After my accident, of course.” He laughs a little bitterly. 

Geno’s sure his back must resemble iron with how tense they are but he can’t seem to force himself to relax or turn around. 

“I love your style of hockey. You were so confident and you wouldn’t let anything get in your way.”

It’s almost like he’s having an out of body experience. He feels Sidney move next to him, and gently turns him, grabbing the wash cloth hanging next to the sink, he begins carefully wiping Geno’s hands.

“I watched as you were drafted to the Penguins, watched as you went back to the KHL, watched as you made your way back here and fought for your right to play.”

Sidney’s hands are steady and firm, but holding Geno’s hands as if they were something infinitely precious, and Geno can only blink owlishly as Sidney drops the cloth onto the counter and shyly rubs his thumbs over his hands. 

“If I hadn’t gotten injured, maybe we could’ve ended up playing against each other, or,” Sidney bites his lip, eyes laughing at him. “Maybe we could’ve been teammates,” he whispers, his voice wistful. 

“Sidney...” Geno breaks in, unable to keep silent the painful yearning. “Sid.” Sidney insists, looking up at him, clutching his hands tightly. 

“Sid.” Geno breathes, swallowing the sudden lump in his throat. 

Sidney gives him breathtaking smile and reaches up to rub soothingly at the bruise underneath Geno’s eye. “Zhenya,” Sidney whispers in reply.

There are many things they need to talk about, many problems to solve, but right here, in the middle of the kitchen with the sun highlighting little flecks into Sidney’s eyes, Geno finds that he doesn’t care.

Geno doesn’t know anything about music, but as he gently cradles Sidney’s neck and bends down to kiss him, he feels the steady thrum of Sidney’s heartbeat and the pounding of his own heart in reply, and understands perfectly.

**Author's Note:**

> This was quite a bit longer originally, but I cut out a lot of the pining/whining. There were also paragraphs about Sid's hands. Paragraphs. xD
> 
> Apologies again for any errors, still trying to find a beta, but hope you enjoyed this schmoopfest ^^
> 
> You can complain about having to get cavities on my [tumblr](http://thegreatestgriefs.tumblr.com)


End file.
